No. 2 seed Hoosiers face Golden Gophers

After an opening round bye, the No. 25 IU women’s tennis team takes on the No. 7 seed Minnesota today in its first action in this year’s Big Ten Championships on the Golden Gopher’s home court.\nLosing only to No. 5 Northwestern in conference, the Hoosiers accumulated a 9-1 Big Ten record and the tournament’s second seed. IU’s second place finish in the conference standings is its best since the team tied for first in 2004. \nThat success allowed the Hoosiers the opportunity to rest and wait as Illinois and tournament host Minnesota battled in the opening round. Minnesota won the match 4-0.\nDespite IU’s higher seed, Minnesota’s home court advantage is something that the Hoosiers will have to overcome. However, they succeeded in a more difficult situation earlier this season.\nIn late March, IU escaped a tough road trip to Minnesota with a 4-3 win. Not only was sophomore Sigrid Fischer out of the lineup to due illness, but the travel itself was difficult. Flight delays forced the Hoosiers to drive to Minnesota from their previous match in Iowa. Exhausted and shorthanded, the Hoosiers were still able to beat the Golden Gophers, who were ranked No. 51 nationally at the time. \nWith a repeat of those circumstances unlikely, IU coach Lin Loring said he anticipates an easier contest against Minnesota this time around.\n“It was a really, really horrible road trip,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be a lot better rested this time when we get up there, and some of those factors that we played in won’t be factors this time.”\nThose conditions forced players like freshman Lindsey Stuckey to have their best performances of the season. Fischer will be in the lineup this time, but she said she knows her teammates will be ready to step up their play if she or anyone else has an off day.\n“When one person doesn’t play well, somebody else is playing well,” Fischer said. “We always have enough wins to win overall.”\nEven with their success this year, the Hoosiers aren’t feeling pressured to succeed in the Big Ten Championships. Loring said his team has overacheived all season, and with a NCAA tournament berth assured, there is nothing for the Hoosiers to lose at this point. \nThat mentality has spread to his players, and junior Brianna Williams said the team is relaxed but still ready to compete.\n“We’re pretty loose and just want to go in and win,” she said. “We don’t really have any pressure.”